Advice on treating/staining a new cedar fence

I recently had a new 7' fence professionally installed. It is American cedar and looks great. The fence contractor gave me a quote to apply sealer/stain but I'm considering doing it myself. The contractor was actually pretty cool about it and told me he used a product called Wood Defender, and he recommended using a backpack sprayer. However, the backpack idea is more intimidating to me than a paint roller, which I am comfortable using. Also, he made it sound like Wood Defender was kind of messy to work with and is not water soluble. I've had experience painting with oil-based paints and that can obviously be more difficult than water-based. So - any advice on the easiest but effective solution for a guy who isn't super handy? I think the most important thing is a sealer to preserve the wood and keep it looking great, but we may consider a stain as well. Thanks! submitted by /u/across777 [link] [comments]

Mar 22, 2025 - 21:12

I recently had a new 7' fence professionally installed. It is American cedar and looks great.

The fence contractor gave me a quote to apply sealer/stain but I'm considering doing it myself. The contractor was actually pretty cool about it and told me he used a product called Wood Defender, and he recommended using a backpack sprayer. However, the backpack idea is more intimidating to me than a paint roller, which I am comfortable using. Also, he made it sound like Wood Defender was kind of messy to work with and is not water soluble. I've had experience painting with oil-based paints and that can obviously be more difficult than water-based.

So - any advice on the easiest but effective solution for a guy who isn't super handy? I think the most important thing is a sealer to preserve the wood and keep it looking great, but we may consider a stain as well.

Thanks!

submitted by /u/across777
[link] [comments]